Storyshift: Judged
by Saul'keth
Summary: Frisk is nearly at the end of their journey. Only King Sans remains as their final challange. But first, their mirror will pass Judgement. (Minor elements of Charisk)


* _Ding!_ *

With a gentle touch of healing magic and a wave of DETERMINATION, Frisk left the Save Point behind and took in the golden hallway. Stained glass windows showed the Delta Rune and rolling plains from the Surface, rare, natural sunlight shining through. If they really focused, they could hear the birds singing, smell the flowers blooming.

Here, so close to the end, they found a familiar face waiting for them. Chara. Still in that same green hoodie, the faint outline of a knife in one of their pockets. They were surprised to find another Human in the Underground, and that only grew when it became clear they were practically mirror images of each other. They could have easily passed as twins, if not for Chara's rosy pink cheeks.

Honestly, while Frisk considered them one of their best friends in the Underground, Chara could still scare them at times. They... weren't exactly quiet about their life before falling into the Underground, or their negative opinion of Humanity. The way they casually played with their knife during their first meeting, and their legendary (according to Asriel and the few Monsters unfortunate enough to have earned it) "Scary Face", both freaked them out. But, still, they never once tried to harm them, and had actually helped them out a few times.

"Greetings, Partner," Chara started, face as neutral as Frisk's own almost always was. "Congratulations. You've nearly reached the end. Only the King, Sans, lies between you and the Barrier. What you decide to do with him will decide the fate of both Humans and Monsters.

But first, you'll be judged. Judged for your actions here in the Underground. Judged for all the EXP you've earned. What's EXP, you ask? It's an acronym. It stands for Execution Points." A gasp escaped from Frisk, but Chara continued like nothing had happened. "A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. When you kill someone, you gain EXP. When you have enough EXP, you gain LOVE. LOVE is also an acronym. It stands for Level Of Violence. A way of measuring your capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it is to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others."

For a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, Chara kept their silence. The two simply stared at each other, Frisk struggling to keep their poker face and stand straight. The revelation of what LOVE and EXP actually stood for had unnerved them, and Chara's lack of expression only dug at their worries.

Even if they knew they had nothing to fear.

Finally, a smile graced Chara's face, and Frisk could almost feel a physical weight being lifted from their shoulders. "I'll be honest, my reflection," they started. "I was worried when you showed up. You know I have little faith in our kind. And with King Sans' declaration that all other Humans that fall down here must die, I thought you'd strike back with violence, that you'd slaughter any Monster you'd come across. But you never did. No matter the challenge, you showed MERCY to everyone you came across. You refused to hurt a single SOUL. Even when you ran, you did it with their safety and happiness first in your mind. You never gained LOVE, but you gained the love of everyone in the Underground.

That includes me... Frisk." That was a surprise. Chara's smile only grew, however. "I thought all Humans were inclined to hatred and violence. I thought I was the sole exception, due to my time with Monsterkind, and my True Family down here. And, I was worried that I was only deluding myself. That even with their love, I was still destined to bring death and suffering, simply because I was Human. But you showed me otherwise. Humans are capable of compassion. They can feel love, not the acronym, real love. We can change for the better. We don't have to be cruel. We can be better than that. Even if the majority choose the easier path, as long as there are Humans like you, like us, that strive to do the right thing, to refuse our violent nature and be kind..."

Chara's smile lingered for a moment, before a frown took its place. "Now, your journey is nearly over. Only the king lies between you and the absolute. You have a decision to make. If you kill Sans and use his SOUL to cross the Barrier, Monsters will remain trapped Underground forever. If you refuse, however, he will take your SOUL and, with the others he collected, use it to destroy Humankind. What will you do, my mirror image?

Well, I, personally, don't care that much, even now, with what I've learned from you, about what happens to the Humans above. I'd rather just stay down here with my family. That offer applies to you as well, Frisk. We'd do everything we could to keep you safe and happy. It's not in his nature to do so, but even if Sans came to Snowdin to collect your SOUL, all of us would fight to keep you safe. But you've got something special, something that's driven you this far, and won't let you stop. You've got DETERMINATION. And with it, as long as you keep striving to do the right thing, I'm confident everything will work out in the end."

With those words, and one last friendly smile, Chara stepped behind a pillar and disappeared. Frisk stood there for a minute, contemplating their words. True, they could just go back to Snowdin and forget about their quest. They doubted anyone would think less of them for it, and, going by everything they've learned about him, Sans might even prefer he stop, if only so he doesn't have to kill another child. They had no doubt Chara, Toriel, Asgore, and even Asriel would fight anyone, even the king, if it meant keeping them safe, should they join their family. And that way, they wouldn't have to leave all their friends behind. As for the Barrier? The Monsters have waited many, many years already, and lord knows Sans wanted to delay their "revenge" for as long as possible. Surely, they could wait for Chara or Frisk to die of natural causes, or for another, evil Human to fall into the Underground.

But, Chara was right. They were DETERMINED to reach the Surface. They were DETERMINED to break the Barrier and free the Monsters, peacefully. Their DETERMINATION would not be satisfied otherwise. And so, with their goal in the forefront of their mind, Frisk marched onward to the king.

* * *

Because I couldn't find any Storyshift content featuring a Pacifist ending.


End file.
